Author:SimarillionArchive:Daunting ByronPairing: Colin/Orli, Marton/Craig, Sean B/ViggoRating: PGWarning: This story is RPS which means Real Person Slash. It has Homo-erotic content (m/m) and everybody not comfortable with this topic should not read any further.Summary: The Farrell's, an Irish family living in the States move to Santa Monica. where the father has a new job. There Colin meets a beautiful stranger who turns his worl upside down. Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. They are all their own persons and I don't claim to know anything of their sexual preferences or habits. Also I want to make clear that all of this is invented and not used to make profit.

Notes: This story is an AU and therefore the age and also the professions of the characters have been changed to accommodate the plot. The idea of this story came up when I thought about what to write with an Colin/Orli pairing. Rotschopf asked me on the Archives Tag board when there would be something to read from me. Well, here it is. Unfortunately I couldn't come up with anything in Real World but somehow I thought about this story.

CHAPTER EIGHT

There was a sad and heavy silence as the six guys waited for the train to depart. Ten minutes to go but the wait made it feel like an eternity, graining on everybody’s nerves. Craig clung to Marton, who in turn held him tight, not wanting to ever let go of him. Shaun and Viggo were standing close to each other, neither daring to talk or touch. Colin was standing a bit away from the group, feeling strangely out of place, blaming himself for all the hurt here. Orlando stood close to his brother, carefully avoiding looking at anybody present.

The day at the ranch had been tainted with the nearing departure of Shaun and Craig. So, after a short ride, they had returned to Santa Monica, Orlando excusing himself and heading off to the beach, Shaun and Viggo and Marton and Craig heading out together after dropping Colin off at home.

Once again he had been left alone by his friends. He had not been angry at them, understanding their need of some time with each other, but he felt lonely and betrayed still. Colin had had the whole afternoon and the evening to think about everything that had happened the last few weeks and starting to prepare everything for Ireland.

Yesterday, Marton and Viggo had shown up bright and early in the morning to pick Craig and Shaun up, leaving Colin another day of packing and preparations for his own departure.

And now they were all standing on platform 4, waiting for Shaun’s and Craig’s train to leave. Colin had decided to drive them to the train station in L.A., so they wouldn’t have to take the bus. Naturally Viggo and Marton had shown up for the farewell but Colin had been surprised to find Orlando with them. The beauty hadn’t talked to him or seen him since Colin’s confession.

So, when Shaun and Craig finally had to get on the train, Colin tried to catch their eyes, to say goodbye, but both of them were too occupied to notice his attempts. Sad and defeated Colin turned his back to the five people saying their farewells and headed as fast as possible out of the train station, almost running to the car. He threw the door shut, pain and despair making his body shake, and took deep calming –well, that’s what they were supposed to be –breaths, fighting a panic attack. He rested his head on the steering wheel, closing his eyes, forcing himself to relax. It didn’t work, it just didn’t work.

Ever since confessing his love, Colin had feared that Orlando would taunt him or beat him up. What he feared most was rejection. He had thought that the worst that could happen would be for Orli and his gang to beat him into hospital but the way he was treated was far worse. He was ignored. Orlando hadn’t spoken to him or given any indication of noticing Colin at all. It seemed like the other hoped that if he pretended Colin wasn’t there, he problem would just disappear.

He had spent the last two days, trying to convince himself that he didn’t care. That it was alright, the best option, but it wasn’t. Not at all. He had felt hurt because of Orlando’s hate before, so he felt devastated now because of the rejecting silence. It was graining on his nerves.

After another minute of calming breathing exercises, Colin raised his head from the steering wheel and looked out of the front shield window. He watched the coming and going at the strain station parking lot. Families, couples, single persons were buzzing to and from the station, welcoming home or saying goodbye. There were tears and laughter, an unbelievable density of emotions. It was like watching the whole kaleidoscope of human emotions. All these powers filled the air, the earth, every last brick of the building, making it almost hum with energy.

In the midst of the whole spectacle, three familiar figures left the train station’s main building and walked over the parking lot, heading for a familiar jeep. Colin’s eyes followed the youngest of the three and he felt his heart ache when remembering the cold dismissal of his presence.

He should have known and never said a word, but it was already too late now. Colin had had his chance, now he would have to learn to live with the consequences of his actions. He would have to make the best of the situation.

Colin watched them get into the car, starting it and drive away, before he pulled out of the parking lot himself. Fortunately there was no heavy traffic or else he would very likely have had an accident. His thoughts were swirling around, making it impossible to concentrate on the here and now, in this particular case, the traffic. Again and again Colin wondered how things might be if. The biggest if of it all was the if I was straight. This was not the first time that his sexuality had complicated things but it was actually the very first time he wondered if he ought to be straight. He could be friends with Orli like guys of the surfer gang and Orlando wouldn’t be disgusted by him then. But Colin was not straight and in the end he simply refused to deny who he was.

When he arrived back at home, the house he wouldn’t call home after tomorrow, Colin parked the car, got out of it and stood in front of the white building, looking up at it and cursing the day he had seen this house for the first time. Nothing good had come from it. He closed his eyes and sighed, forcing all the bad and uncomfortable memories into the corner farthest back in his head. He didn’t want to remember the last weeks.

The house was quiet, Catherine at the beach again and Rita and Eamon were out shopping. Colin was relieved to not have to talk to anybody. He would use the time and finish packing and rest some more. The last night he hadn’t been able to get any sleep because he had feared his friends’ leaving, if he could still call them that. Both of them, Shaun and Craig had been far too wrapped up in Viggo and Marton to notice Colin. Somehow he suspected the two from Greenleaf to be angry with him. Maybe he was wrong but it certainly felt like it.

Leaving the entrance hall behind, he climbed the stairs to his room. Colin winced upon entering his refuge and seeing the two mattresses on the floor, reminding him of everything gone wrong. It was impossible to escape all those memories. They were everywhere. He couldn’t wait to leave all of this behind and start anew in Dublin. Colin was realistic enough to know that there would be problems and casualties too but it couldn’t be worse than staying here. Nothing could be.

He heaved a heavy sigh and eyed the unfinished packed suitcases wearily. Trotting over to the cupboard, Colin opened it and continued making an end to his Santa Monican misery.

-~oO*Oo~-

The phone rang when they were sitting at the dinner table and Rita sent a questioning look to Colin, who got up and went into the hall, picking up the phone and answering it.

“Colin?”

Colin gripped the head piece tighter and forced himself to stay calm. “Shaun?”

There was a heavy silence on the other end before the Blonde answered:” I … um … you never said goodbye.”

What was that all about? First they treat him like he doesn’t exist and then it was his fault? “If you remember correctly, Shaun, you were never around to make it possible to say goodbye to you.” Colin grew angrier and angrier with every second. It was just not fair that they would get away with this.

“Yeah, I am sorry about that. Craig and I noticed that you were gone when we turned back to the group and wanted to say our farewells to you.” Shaun sounded somehow peeved about it.

“I left after the umpteenth attempt in two days to talk to either of you. It was not possible to make you or Craig do even as much as talking properly to me. I am quite flattered though that the two of you allowed me to drive you to the train station. I am sure, Viggo and Marton would have loved to do that and it must have cost you a lot to give this honour to me.” He cut the line and stormed out of the hall, back into the dining room. The second he sat down, the phone rang again and Colin glared angrily at the food on his plate. He forced himself to ignore the questioning looks from his family and started shovelling peas into his mouth.

When Colin made no attempt to get up and get the phone, Rita got up and left the room. Only moments after her departure the ringing stopped and there could be heard the soft sound of talking.

“Colin?” He looked up and sighed, hearing his mother call him. He didn’t want to go there and talk to Shaun. He wanted to sulk and be unreasonable. He wanted to be furious but the truth was that he had already forgiven the two of them, the moment he had heard the familiar voice of Shaun.

Colin left the table and joined his mother in the hall, next to the phone, taking the head piece from her. “What do you want?”

Shaun’s voice was small:” I wanted to apologise. I am really sorry about how we treated you.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Colin ….” Shaun paused as if searching for the right words. “Colin, how can I make up for what I all did wrong?”

How could they do that indeed? “I don’t know. I have to think, okay.” Colin felt something in his chest clench together. “I’ll call you. Bye, Shaun.”

“Colin …. Bye”

He simply couldn’t stand the silence and the hurt anymore and cut the line the second and the last time and headed for his room. Somehow he didn’t feel like dinner anymore.